


The Sickness in the Sea

by DoobleBugs



Series: Hollow Knight MerFolk AU [2]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Angst, Angst and Feels, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, QuirrelLemm but they're still in crush territory, The Nailmaster Brothers swear like sailors (because they kind of are), light Violence, merfolk, the infection is pollution in this AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28024044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoobleBugs/pseuds/DoobleBugs
Summary: Despite their best efforts and intentions, Ghost was still only one Mer-Pup versus the Radiance and all her facilities and pollutants.Her chemicals were still being pumped into the water at alarming rates, and while Ghost wasn't affected due to their nature...Their friends certainly were.
Relationships: Hornet & The Knight (Hollow Knight), Nailmaster Mato & Nailmaster Oro & Nailmaster Sheo & Sly (Hollow Knight), The Knight & Quirrel (Hollow Knight)
Series: Hollow Knight MerFolk AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2122839
Comments: 168
Kudos: 252





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys! I've been in a bit of a writing slump, so I thought i'd polish up one of my older works and post it! And this one happens to be a Mermaid AU fic! enjoy!

Ghost had just finished training with the Mantis Shrimp Lords, and they were exhausted. Their fins were drooping and swimming took way more effort than usual.

They quietly crawled onto the black rocks used to sunbathe, already enjoying the strong sunshine on their cold scales.

Cloth lay nearby, seemingly asleep. She looked like a very good pillow, so Ghost crawled a little closer, squeaking to get her attention.

When they came closer, Cloth flinched, turning slightly to face them, and _snarled_. Her claws scraped against the rocks and her face was an angry glare.

Ghost instinctively scootched away, whimpering silently. What had they done wrong? Why was she so upset at them? Why was she so scary?

Cloth frowned, shaking her head slightly, confused. "W... what? Little warrior? What happened?"

The little pup kept their head low, shivering slightly. She made a low noise in her throat, moving a touch closer. "Hey, what's wrong? I-I'm sorry about that, I kinda blacked out for a second...I thought you were a threat."

They weren't a threat, why did she think they were a threat? Surely they did something wrong. Cloth ruffled their hair gently. "I'm really sorry, Ghost. It won't happen again, I promise!”

Little Ghost didn't want to cuddle anymore. They shook their head, letting out an unhappy squeak and inching closer to the water.

Cloth looked hurt but understood. Ghost slipped back into the water and swam away, still shaken up by the whole experience.

Maybe Myla would be better.

She wasn't.

* * *

Myla was by the beach and was most likely digging in the mud for 'treasures' and singing. Ghost immediately noticed she was doing neither. She seemed confused, swaying slightly. She'd try to get up, before her arms would give out and she'd plop back down onto the sand.

Was she OK?

Ghost peeped softly, hauling themselves onto the muddy sand. Myla didn't notice, her breathing labored and raspy. They peeped at her, tugging on one of her fins to get her attention.

It worked a little _too_ well.

Myla immediately went into an aggressive stance; fins flared as much as possible, back arched to look larger, tail thrashing behind her, a low hiss in her throat. Her warning hiss was interrupted with a coughing fit.

Ghost squeaked, backing up as far as they could. Their frightened squeaks seemed to have snapped her out of her aggression. Myla blinked, lowering her tail and flattening her fins. “G-Ghost? Is that you?"

They didn't answer, staring at her and trembling. Ghost had instinctively entered a defensive stance in reply to Myla's aggression; flattening their body and looking as small as possible, fins pointed back and head low.

"O-Oh! G-Ghost!" Myla stuttered, "I didn't know it was you! I-I-I didn't know who you were! I didn't know what I was d-doing!"

What was going on? Why were Ghost's friends acting so aggressively towards them? They _must_ have done something wrong. Did their friends not like them anymore?

Myla could tell they were upset and she scooted closer. "H-Hey, I'm so, so, so sorry, please don't be upset…I'm so sorry-"

Ghost wasn't having it. Whimpering, they headed to the water. Their escape.

"N-No, wait, don't go! I'm really sorry, I-I didn't mean it-" She reached to try and grab their tail, and Ghost pulled away before she could.

She must hate them. They had to leave. They had to leave right now.

Ignoring her pleading apologies, Ghost slipped back into the cold waters and hoped Myla wouldn't follow.

She didn't.

* * *

Ghost didn't return to the reef until later. They hated being alone. But they hated being snarled and hissed at even more.

They returned later in the day, everyone would hopefully be out to go hunting for dinner. Good.

The little pup dug around in the sand for something to eat - they were hungry too - and found a tasty looking crab.

Poking their head out of the surface, they swam over to a rock to sit and enjoy their crab dinner.

Cracking the crustacean open, Ghost eagerly tucked in.

Part of the rock behind them began to move with an angry grumble.

Looks like they weren't alone for dinner.

A long, navy blue tail shifted nearby, camouflaged in the shadows of the black rocks. Tiso groaned as he stretched, cracking his neck and knuckles as he stirred from his sleep. They had disturbed his nap, so it seemed.

Ghost hesitantly offered him a crab leg.

Tiso blinked, then looked at the offered crab leg disdainfully, a low hiss in his throat. Ghost felt their blood grow cold. He growled at them - a warning growl, telling them to _get lost_ \- and there was no recognition in his eyes. 

Ghost was frozen in place. 

With another growl, one louder and more aggressive, Tiso swiped at them with his claws. The little pup barely managed to get out of the way with a loud peep, feeling his claws dig into their tail. It wasn't deep, but it hurt a _lot._

The little scratch started to bleed, and Ghost squeaked in fear.

That squeak seemed to snap Tiso out of whatever state he was in. He blinked, confused, rubbing his temples. “Ach- Pale thing, what’s wrong?”

Did...did he not know? Ghost was shivering in fear. He had _hurt_ them.

Tiso frowned, slithering closer. “Hey, what’s wrong? What’s got you shaking like that? Did something happen?”

Ghost shook their head, feeling tears well up in their eyes. He hurt them. _He hurt them._

“Hey, c’mon don’t cry! What’s got you so scared?” He asked, growing concerned. His eyes fell on the scratch that _he_ created. “Who did that? Did someone hurt you?”

Ghost shivered, shifting away from him.

Tiso looked hurt. "Hey, d-don't look at me like that. I didn't do anything!" He reached over, pausing when he noticed his claws with trace bits of Ghost's blood on them. 

He started shaking. "W-What happened? Ghost? Who hurt you? W-Why do you look so scared of me?!" He was getting louder, which only succeeded in making Ghost shift further and further away. "Stop looking at me like that!!"

Tiso gulped. "I-I don't feel so well-" but he was interrupted by a horrible sounding coughing fit that ended with him starting to gag. He shuddered, spitting out blobs of orange and chunks of bloody plastic.

Ghost had seen enough and didn't want to see any more. They turned to enter the water.

"D-don't go! I'm fine, I'm fine! It's just a cough." He tried to assure them. "Ghost? Kid? It's fine!"

But it wasn't.

* * *

They had found Quirrel resting on the soft sands near the entrance to GreenKelp. Ghost swam over carefully inspecting their sleeping friend.

Quirrel was curled up slightly, antennae twitching in the gentle currents. He snored quietly, head resting on his arms.

Ghost whimpered, nuzzling into his side to try and wake him up. But he yawned, lifting up an arm for the pup to worm under. Quirrel was used to this by now, and could literally comfort Ghost in his sleep.

Little Ghost happily squirmed closer to their adoptive uncle, wiggling under Quirrel’s arm and shifting the sand nearby for maximum comfort. Quirrel was soft and warm, and his breathing calmed their nerves. They felt safe. Nothing could hurt them when Quirrel was around, surely.

At least that's what they thought.

Pain spiked through their tail and they yelped, trying to pull away from whatever was causing it.

Quirrel snarled, _their_ tail firmly locked in his mouth. He bit down a bit harder, sending more jolts of agony through them.

What was he doing?! Why?! Ghost squeaked in pure fear, scared and confused as to why he would be doing this. What had they done wrong?!

Quirrel grimaced, spitting out Ghost's tail in disgust. Their void blood wasn't very appetizing, evidently, and tried to spit it out.

Ghost's mind was racing, clutching their tail for dear life. Quirrel's bite wasn't that deep, nor was he venomous, but the sting of betrayal almost hurt as much as the actual wound.

"Eugh, what _is_ this stuff?" Quirrel muttered, still trying to get the void taste off his tongue. His fins twitched, finally noticing Ghost's distress. "Little one, what's-"

Ghost shivered, looking as small as they could. They couldn't believe it...they were _afraid_ of him. But clearly, he could do damage. He _hurt_ them.

Quirrel quickly connected the dots; the void blood in his mouth, Ghost's injury and very apparent fear, his lack of memories.

Quickly skittering to his feet, he held a hand over his mouth, mortified. "Little one... y-you're hurt…"

He stepped closer, reaching out to scoop them up. _Or finish the job, maybe._ "Come here, let me see so I can bandage you up."

Ghost shook their head, sobbing and still clutching their tail.

Quirrel looked so sad, so hurt. But what he felt couldn't compare to how Ghost felt. "Little one, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Let me fix it! I can fix it-"

He skittered closer. Ghost felt something bubble in their chest and they _hissed_. Quirrel looked surprised, antennae and fins flat, and they too were surprised.

They had never hissed before.

Using Quirrel's surprise to their advantage, they flicked their tail (ignoring the pain shooting through it) to swim away. 

"Wait! Don't go! Please!" Unlike the others, Quirrel gave chase. 

Ghost swam, trying to be as confusing and difficult to follow as possible. Finally, a little bit into GreenKelp, they found a small cave and ducked into it.

They curled up as far back as they could, giving themselves a moment to catch their breath and silently sob.

From outside, they heard Quirrel skittering closer. "Ghost? Ghost, please come out!" He begged, and Ghost saw him reach inside their cave. "Please...I'm so sorry…"

They weren't falling for that.

Ghost had realized their blunder quickly; this cave had no exit. They would have to wait for Quirrel to leave before they could.

So they waited.

Quirrel continued to try and reach them, still spouting off apologies and pleads, until he grew quiet and drew his arm back.

Ghost continued to wait for a few more minutes to make sure he was gone. It felt so weird to avoid _Quirrel_ , someone they held so near and dear to them.

They poked their head out of the cave, seeing that Quirrel was not gone, but had merely laid down next to the entrance.

The two shared an uncomfortable silence, shame washing over Quirrel's features and fear flooding through Ghost's.

Ghost darted deeper into GreenKelp, risking a look behind them to see if he was following them.

To their bittersweet relief, he wasn't.

* * *

Ghost had one last hope; Hornet. If little Ghost wanted comfort, she would give it to them, only minimal questions asked. 

Today had been a no good, awful, truly terrible day. They had been hissed at, snarled at, scratched, and bit. Little Ghost wanted, no, _needed_ some physical affection right now.

Hornet was their best bet.

They searched GreenKelp, looking for her and also doing their best to hide, just in case someone came to look for them.

Hornet was deep, deep in GreenKelp, surrounded by so much kelp and plants she was almost invisible, even with her bright red accents.

She was resting on a rock, cleaning her needle. Ghost's felt hope flutter in their heart...but something was wrong.

Something was _off_ with her.

Hornet only cleaned her needle when she was relaxed and felt safe. But her pose was much too stiff. And the way she was cleaning her needle was strange, repetitive, incredibly unnatural. It wasn't _right._ It was if she was stuck in an endless loop.

They swam a bit closer to try and get her attention. Hornet’s gaze was distant, foggy, with traces of orange light. She didn’t even notice them. 

She continued to polish her needle.

Ghost peeped at her, only managing to get one of her ear fins to twitch slightly. It didn't even look like she was _breathing._

She continued to polish her needle.

Finally, they turned to tug on her tail. That would _have_ to get her attention. As soon as they did so, Ghost felt something whizz by their side. 

Hornet loomed above them, mouth twitching into a furious sneer. Numbly, they felt their side to find a slice in their flesh. A deep one.

She had thrown their needle at them.

Ghost’s mind went hazy as they saw the water around them grow dark from their blood.

The two siblings had fought needle to nail before. Training and sparring, Hornet tested the pup to make sure they were strong enough. She had drawn blood before, and after the fight, she’d patch them up and comfort them.

This was different. And it was _bad._

Hornet was leering at them like they were _prey,_ looming over Ghost. The orange in her eyes flickered and she hissed in pain.

Ghost needed to get away, they needed to flee. They weren’t going to wait around for Hornet to strike them again. Their side was killing them, sending red hot flashes of pain through their spine and into their skull. But they had to flee.

As Ghost started swimming, they could hear her call after them. 

They weren’t listening.

They had to run away. They weren’t safe in the reef anymore. Mind racing, they mentally thought about what they had to take with them. Their nail was still in their cave, but that was too risky. The reef was dangerous, and they could always find another one.

Ghost kept swimming. Hornet continued to call after them, growing more frantic and faint. Their vision was growing dizzy, but they didn’t stop. They needed all the distance they could get.

They headed out towards the open water, the reef growing more distant behind them. They thought so, anyway. It was getting hard to see. Or think. Everything was so dark and cold, their side killing them.

Ghost eventually gently crashed on the ocean floor, breathing shallow and the world going black.


	2. The FisherBrothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually have a couple chapters of this done, and even half of a chapter! I just need to edit them. So if you like, I'd love to write more of this, and maybe finally finish that unfinished chapter

Oro reached into his pockets for the pack of cigarettes and his lighter, hoping that the rough waters hadn't made either completely useless.

"Those are going to kill you, you know." Came Sheo's disappointed sigh from behind him.

"Everything's gonna kill me," Oro replied, lazily lighting up a smoke. "I could slip and fall on some of the tools on board and crack my head open like an egg."

The ocean and sky merged together in a dreary grey, the waters were rough and the wind was howling. Prime fishing hours, according to Sly. But it was always prime fishing hours, according to him.

Mato came down to check the net, pausing at the sight of his brother smoking. "I'm pretty sure I've told you to stop. I think all of us have told you to stop?"

Oro flicked his still-lit cigarette into the water. "You tell me a lot of things. I don't know why you bother, it goes one ear and out the other."

"And I've told you not to flick your cancer sticks into the fucking ocean!"

"In one ear, out the other."

Sheo cleared his throat. "If you two are done being children...you should look at this."

The brothers gathered close to the edge as the boat began to lift the fishing net from the water. On a good day, they'd find a good catch of various types of fish to cut and sell. On a bad day, they'd fish up a net full of trash or even worse, fish with inedible orange gunk spewing from their mouths and gills.

What they caught was nothing they had ever seen before. At first, they thought it was a large, grey fish with black fins. A strange find on its own, but the scales melted away into what looked to be equally grey flesh. The fish had a human-like torso, roughly the size of a child, and a face with black hair. This was a  _ Mercreature _ of some kind, only heard in stories and from nutty conspiracists.

The Mercreature rose its head and blinked sleepily at the trio, before realizing what was going on and trying to escape its net prison.

The trio were stunned. They had never seen anything like this before and were at a complete loss as to what to do.

Sheo spoke first. "They're hurt." He muttered, looking at the bite mark on their tail and gash in their side. "Let's get them out of the net and patch them up."

As Sheo and Mato started to untangle the child, Oro stammered for a response. "This is  _ insane _ ." Hands shaking, he lit another cigarette. "This is insane, that is a...a...fucking fish kid! That's a Mermaid! Whatever the fuck!"

"Hey don't swear around them." Mato hissed quietly, holding it like one would carry a baby. It squirmed gently in his arms with a pained expression, trying to appear smaller.

"C'mon, let's take them to Sly. He'll know what to do." Sheo said, starting the boat. "Oro, be nice."

They pulled into their little dock under the main pier, Mato still holding the child in his arms.

"Sly's not gonna like this." Oro grumbled. "We'll be mopping the floors for months."

"You think so poorly of him." Sheo said, clucking softly to show his disappointment. "Put the little one in the lobster tank."

Mato shook his head. "They'll get bullied by the other lobsters! I don't want them to get pinched!"

"You're not sending your kid off to Preschool, Mato." Oro shouted. "In case the fumes from the engine got to your head, you're holding a weird fuckin' fish thing!"

The Mer winced, burying its face in Mato's chest to try and hide.

"I'll put them in the shrimp tank then." Sheo reached for the child, but Mato stepped back. 

"They're fine, they like me! Go distract dad."

The three tried to sneak upstairs into the shop, Sheo going to the kitchen to find Sly while Oro and Mato dealt with the child.

"Dad…" Sheo began, unsure on how to break the news.

Sly put down the large knife he was using to cut fish down on the cutting board. "What's wrong? You never call me 'dad' unless one of you three broke something. What broke?"

Sheo took a deep breath. Then sighed, "It's best to show you.”

Grumbling, Sly wiped his hands on his apron. “This better be something good. Buried treasure, perhaps?”

“That depends on your definition of treasure.” Sheo waxed poetically, scratching the stubble on his chin.

Sly shot him a look. “Don’t be like that. You know what I mean! Treasure is treasure!” Coming down the stairs, he saw Oro and Mato hovering around the shrimp tank. “Oh god, did one of the shrimp start squirting orange goo again?”

“No, Dad, come look.” Mato whispered, motioning for Sly to be quieter. “Be slow and gentle.

Stepping in front of the tank, Sly stared at the small fish-child-whatever currently sitting in the decorative tank he put the shrimp in for his customers.

He took off his glasses, cleaned them, then put them back on. The child blinked at him.  Sly turned to the three men behind him. "What the fuck."

"Dad, don't swear around the child!" Mato said in a hushed tone.

"We found them in a net." Sheo clarified. "They're hurt. We figured you could help."

Sighing, Sly turned back to the tank, squinting at the child inside. They visibly shrank away from his stare. "Can you understand us?" He asked.

The small child looked away, then nodded. Sly huffed quietly. "Right. We're not going to hurt you, little one. We just want to clean up those nasty cuts and scrapes. How did you get them?"

The little fish child's bottom lip quivered and they made a series of soft vocalizations. "...can fish cry?" Oro asked, louder than intended. Mato elbowed him in the side.

Sly cleaned his glasses again. "Alright. Sheo, get the first aid kit. Mato, help me patch them up. And Oro? Go make some hot chocolate for our little guest. They can stay the night."

* * *

Hornet was panicking. No. She was beyond that. She was  _ spiraling. _

What had happened with Ghost? Why were they injured? Why had they fled from her?

_ Why couldn't she remember?! _

She had practically ripped GreenKelp to shreds to try and find her sibling with no luck. 

But she  _ did _ find Quirrel, sulking by a small rocky cave. It was unlike him to sulk, but she didn't care.

"Quirrel!" She shouted, inches away from his face. "Where is Ghost?! I saw that they were injured and I can't remember and they were so  _ scared of me-" _

"They were probably hiding from me." Quirrel said, sounding miserable.

"Why in all of the Oceans would they hide from you?"

Quirrel looked like he was about to start crying. Instead, he shoved his face into the sand to muffle his reply.  _ "Because! I blacked out for a moment! And when I snapped back to reality! Their tail was in my mouth!" _

Hornet felt rage bubble up her throat. Instead, she heaved and coughed and spat out little blobs of orange. "You BIT THEM?!" she shouted as soon as her coughing fit subsided, more concerned about her sibling for the time being.

Tail lashing behind him, Quirrel shoved more sand on his head.  _ "I didn't mean to! I didn't know what happened! All I know is I took a nap, and when I woke up, they had a bite mark, I had their blood in my mouth, and they swam away!" _

Hornet didn't like how his story was similar to hers. The lack of memory, Ghost being injured, looking so  _ afraid… _

With the little niggling fear in the back of her mind threatening to bloom into a headache, Hornet growled quietly to herself. "Well, did you go look for them?!"

_ "Nooooo…" _

"Well laying here isn't going to help!" With a flick of her tail, she grabbed his waist to lift him up. "I haven't checked the reef yet, maybe the others have seen them."

Swimming with Quirrel was more than tedious, but she didn’t want him to back to bury himself. So she half-dragged, half-swam to the surface. Hornet and Quirrel checked the sunning rocks first, finding a small gathering of Mers there already. "HEY! Have you guys seen Ghost?!" 

"We were  _ just _ talking about that." Cloth said, sounding more than annoyed. "I  _ saw _ Tiso swipe at the little thing with my own two eyes! But he keeps denying it!"

Tiso scoffed, incredibly offended. "Because I would never hurt them! How dare you assume I would!" He turned to Hornet as she climbed up to join them. "You've gotta believe me, something weird is going on! I wake up and the pale thing is just  _ staring  _ at me with such a scared look! Something happened!"

"You did!!" Cloth shouted. "You attacked them!"

"NO. I WOULDN'T HAVE." Tiso snarled in reply, puffing up his fins and chest to look larger.

Hornet frowned, starting to connect the dots. "I think something  _ is _ wrong...the gaps in our memory, Ghost's reaction…the pollution is growing worse. It's affecting us more and more!"

"Are you suggesting we're polluted?" Quirrel asked.

Myla wailed, "But I just got all better!! I don't wanna be polluted anymore!"

"We're not fully polluted yet, but we need to be more proactive. We might have to go see Iselda later. But we need to find Ghost-" Oh. If  _ she _ was polluted...and she had gaps in her memory...and they looked so  _ afraid- _

Hornet's heart skipped a beat. "...oh stars above I  _ attacked _ them." She whispered, the realization hitting her like a cruise liner.

The others looked just as horrified, realizing that in their polluted stupor, they had attacked a child that loved and depended on them.

Tiso grew pale, tugging on the sides of his hood. “I-I didn’t do anything. I wouldn’t, wouldn’t! I would never hurt them, never! Never-” 

“You did, Cloth saw you.” Myla said quietly, patting his back. 

“No no, I wouldn’t, couldn’t, couldn’t-” He tugged harder on his hood, covering his entire face. “No, couldn’t, couldn’t, I would never, wouldn’t-” he continued to ramble like mad. 

Hornet winced and Cloth leaned over.  _ “I also saw him spit up some of the orange stuff too, but he just kept denying it.”  _ Cloth whispered.

Nodding, Hornet whispered back,  _ “Maybe take him to go see Iselda first.” _

“Where do you think they’d be?” Quirrel asked. “We need to find them! We need to apologize and make sure they’re OK! What if they’re hurt? What if they’re dying-”

Hornet hissed, fins flared. “DON’T PUT THAT IDEA IN MY HEAD. You may have bitten them, and Tiso took a swipe, but I attacked them with my  _ needle!”  _ Already the guilt had sown a seed in her heart, and with each passing minute, it grew into a tangle of weeds that choked her with organs with regret and other terrible, terrible emotions.

She needed to find Ghost. To apologize. To patch them up.  _ To make these awful feelings go away. _


	3. Hot Chocolate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna put a TW here because Hornet kiiiinddaaa has a panic attack in the later half of the chapter, and there's a bit of coughing up infection. Viewers beware!

Gho st watched the humans curiously as they circled around them. Some humans were dangerous. Thistlewind. Markoth.  _ Radiance. _

But some humans were friendly. Lemm and Bretta and Ogrim.

Were these large fish-hunting humans friends? Or foes?

The smaller of the humans leaned closer, squinting at them. Ghost shied away from him instinctively.

"Can you understand us?" He asked.

Well, yes, they could. But they couldn’t directly reply. Instead, Ghost nodded slowly.

The man huffed, then continued. “Right. We're not going to hurt you, little one. We just want to clean up those nasty cuts and scrapes. How did you get them?”

_ How did you get them? _ Ghost thought back on their injuries. Their so-called friends turning on them so quickly, so savagely. Ghost started to cry, peeping and squeaking softly as they buried their head in their paws.

“...Alright. Sheo, get the first aid kit. Mato, help me patch them up. And Oro? Go make some hot chocolate for our little guest. They can stay the night.”

Ghost was shocked. These humans had just...accepted the little pup into their home so  _ easily _ . These humans were offering a place to sleep and medical care? They could feel themselves start to cry again.

They felt strong hands pat their back in a reassuring notion. “Don’t cry, child.” One of the larger human cooed. "We're here to help! We're going to fix you up, and my brother Oro is a moron, but he makes the best hot chocolate."

Mato's hand started to retreat, but Ghost grabbed the hand with their paws. They pulled his hand back, laying their chin in his palm.

_ Don't go. I'm scared. I need comfort. _

"Aww, Sly! Look! I think they like me! Aww, they're like a baby."

Sly squinted at them. "If this is a  _ baby _ , I don't want to think about how big the adults could get." He frowned softly. "The poor thing looks so sad. I can only wonder what happened. Well, let's get them out of the tank."

_ No no no, _ Ghost didn't want to go out of the tank. The tank was safe and small. They gripped onto Mato's hand tightly.

"My child, don't be afraid," Mato assured them, voice gentle. "We need to take you out of the tank to patch you up. But we'll put you right back in when we're done, OK? You can keep holding on to me if you'd like."

Sheo returned, holding a red bag and a wet blanket of sorts. "I got this damp towel to put over their gills while we work. It should help."

Ghost nodded, and they felt Mato gently lift them from the tank and place them on a flat surface nearby. Something about these humans seemed  _ trustworthy,  _ Mato especially. (Ghost was having a bit of a hard time keeping the three humans apart, however. They looked very similar.)

"I'll sanitize the table when we're done." They heard Sly mutter under his breath.

Ghost felt the towel wrap gently around their gills, never tight, never constraining. It kept their delicate gills damp for the time, and it was greatly appreciated.

They continued to hold tightly to Mato's hand, nuzzling into his palm. He used his free hand to pet the fin running down their back. "This might hurt, my child. But we need to clean your cuts. If you want to, you can bite down on one of my fingers."

Just as Ghost nodded, they felt Sly and Sheo start to put a liquid on their bite and cuts and needle-wound and it  _ stung _ . It stung  _ badly. _

Ghost bit down on Mato's fingers as he offered, trying to not break his skin.

"You're doing great, my child."

Only now did Ghost think about what he had said.  _ His _ child. 

And then, it was over. Ghost spared a glance at their tail, seeing clean white bandages crisscrossing over the injuries on their tail.

As promised, Mato picked them back up and set them in the tank.

Oro returned, carrying a mug of...something. "I cannot believe I'm making hot chocolate for a  _ fish. _ " He grumbled. "Would the fish like mini marshmallows too?"

"We're out of those," Sly replied. "Stop being a Debbie downer and give the little one their drink."

Continuing to grumble, Oro stepped to the tank. Ghost tried to appear small in front of him. They might look similar, but Oro didn't seem as nice as Mato or Sheo, or even Sly.

Oro paused. "...and how the hell are they gonna drink this, exactly?"

Ghost curiously poked their head above the water, smelling whatever was in the mug. It was unfamiliar to them, but rather sweet and enticing.

"With their mouth, obviously." Sheo chucked. "But to be a touch more serious, I would imagine like any small child would. It's not too hot, is it?"

"Oh my mistake, I accidentally made  _ hot _ chocolate." Oro snapped. "I'll go back and make  _ lukewarm  _ chocolate."

"Just give me the mug!" Mato demanded, snatching it from Oro and turning to Ghost. "My child, would you like a sip?"

Ghost nodded, and Mato helped them take a small sip. It was indeed hot, something Ghost wasn't used to. Merfolk cuisine wasn't typically  _ warm _ . But at the same time, Ghost really liked it!

It was warm and sweet, with a strange taste Ghost had never tried before, but they  _ loved it. _ They eagerly drank some more before Mato handed them the mug to hold. "It's hot, my child, be careful!"

Ghost liked these humans. They were kind, helpful, and they had this amazing 'hot chocolate' stuff!

And hopefully, these humans wouldn't try to kill them.

Ghost could get used to this new family. They happily peeped, much to the joy of Mato. "Did you hear that?! They peeped! That was so cute!"

"Indeed!" Sheo nodded, beaming at them.

Sly chuckled. "I will admit, they are cute. Maybe they can stay for _ two  _ nights."

Rolling his eyes, Oro sighed, "Calm down there dad."

Ghost peeped again, licking the hot chocolate from their nose.

* * *

Mato checked on their guest, snoozing in the shrimp tank. They still didn't have a name, but they responded to 'child' well enough, and the little nickname stuck.

During the day, he snuck out to buy the little fish child some toys and comfort items. A mix of dog toys, bath toys, and toddler toys. They  _ really _ liked the chewy dog toys.

Oro joined his brother. "So. We have a kid now. Now what?"

"Well, we're obviously going to watch over them! They're too little to be in the ocean, you saw those wounds! God, if I ever find out who hurt them-"

"Calm down, papa bear." Oro scolded. "You just met this fish kid. Besides, the ocean is a big, dangerous place for a little thing. No wonder it was injured."

Mato grinned. "You like them."

Sputtering and face growing red, Oro stammered, "No! Back off. They're just some weird fish thing."

"Hmm. You like them. I saw you poke your finger in their tank to play with them."

Oro said nothing. "...they're cute I guess."

* * *

9 hours. 23 minutes. 54 seconds.

Ghost had not been found. In addition to Greenpath being torn apart, they had searched  _ everywhere.  _ Rivermouth. Forgotten Crossroads. Crystal Caves. Fog Canyon. City of Tears. They had even checked the Ancient Basin, Deeptrench, and the Resting Beach.

Still no Ghost.

Hornet kept counting the seconds. Every second held the prospect of someone,  _ anyone _ shouting 'I found them! I found them!'. But there were no shouts of joy, no proclamations of their discovery.

Hornet continued to count the seconds even as she tore through GreenKelp for the third, fourth,  _ fifth _ time. Checking every kelp, every rock, every coral. She just wanted a glimpse. A glimpse of their dark scales in the ever-expansive green kelp.

The guilt continued to wrap its black - or was it orange? - tendrils around her chest, squeezing the life out of her with every passing second.  _ Your fault. Your fault.  _ **_Your fault_ ** _. _

Hornet couldn't breathe. The guilt wrapping all the way around her lungs, her heart, squeezing tight. The kelp only grew closer, trying to tangle around her fins. She couldn't breathe. She needed to get out of GreenKelp, she needed to get away! She needed to find Ghost!

Just as she felt like she was about to suffocate, Hornet swam to the surface of the water, taking choking breaths of air. It stung her gills, but she couldn't afford to be picky.

_ She deserved it anyway. _

Hornet swam to the rocks near the top of the reef to regroup, feeling hope flutter in her heart for only a moment before it was shattered by the look on her friend's faces.

"Ghost-?!" She croaked, collapsing onto the rocks in exhaustion. 9 hours, 49 minutes, 18 seconds without a break. 9 hours, 49 minutes, 18 seconds with no Ghost.

"No Ghost." Quirrel said, shaking his head. He offered her something he held tightly in his claws; Ghost's Nail. "All we could find was the nail...it was in the little nook where they would sleep. In Rivermouth."

"M-Maybe that's a good sign! They don't go anywhere without their nail!" Myla stammered, looking rather tired. "They're bound to come back for that, right?"

Quirrel said nothing, continued to clutch Ghost's Nail, but it was a poor substitute for the  _ owner  _ of the nail.

Tiso groaned. "Can I  _ please _ take a break? I've swam back and forth all day, I think my tail is about to  _ fall off _ and I'm going to starve."

"Oh you  _ poor thing!" _ Hornet hissed, sickeningly sweet. "And when we find Ghost's corpse, I'll know it'll be ALL YOUR FAULT!" Tiso flinched at her fury, and, looking incredibly sheepish, squirmed behind Cloth.

"Hornet, we've searched everywhere." Cloth said slowly, carefully selecting her words. "There may...be a chance...that they're not coming back."

Hornet froze. The snarling, tangled, mess of thorny guilt ripped her apart on the insides. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, her stomach torn apart in right knots, her heart broken.

She screamed, tackling Cloth and trying to claw at the other Mer's face. The others had to pry her off, Quirrel and Tiso holding her back.

"Miss Hornet! Please calm down!" Quirrel begged, struggling to keep the Hornet's rage contained. "I'm sure it will be fine! Cloth, don't say things like that!"

"It's true! Why would they stay!" Cloth snarled, "I wouldn't! We've all treated them like dirt! She attacked them! Why would they stay?! If I were Ghost, I'd be halfway across the ocean by now!"

"That's enough, Cloth!" Quirrel snarled back. "You're not helping!"

"But you know I'm right!"

"YOU'RE WRONG! YOU'RE WRONG YOU'RE WRONG!" Hornet shrieked, collapsing into a coughing fit that wracked through her entire body. She spat out bits of nets and plastic mixed with orange sludge.

"Gods, you're even worse than I was!" Tiso said, wincing at his friend coughing up orange blobs of pollution. "Look I'm sorry for complaining. But  _ you _ need a break!"

Hornet growled, pulling herself away from them. "Ghost needs to be found! I need to find them! I need-"

_ To apologize. To hug them. To comfort them. To apologize. To make things right. To be a good sister. It's all your fault. Your fault.  _ **_Your fault._ **

"It was my job to protect them! It was my job to be a  _ good sister!"  _ She wailed, feeling tears start to roll down her cheeks. "I'm a  _ horrible _ sister! All I've ever done is attack them! I've never hugged them, or-or showed them I care! I've never even said 'I love you'! It's all  _ my fault _ ! It's my fault they're gone! Because I should have been a better sister!"

Hornet broke down into sobbing and coughing, feeling Quirrel pat her back sympathetically. "It's not all your fault, we're all to blame."

_ "I need to fix this...it's all my fault…"  _ she continued to whimper.

Cloth frowned. "Give me their nail."

Quirrel shook his head, clutching the nail tight against their chest. "No. I'm holding it."

"Just give it to me for a second-"

"No I-I need to hold it for them! I'm protecting it for them! I-It's all we have of them-"

Huffing, Cloth yanked it from his grip. "Just for a  _ second."  _ Cloth sniffed the nail, then sniffed the air. "...Got it." She handed the nail back, much to Quirrel's confusion.

"Pardon? What do you have?"

Cloth grinned. "I have Ghost's scent now. I should be able to  _ track _ them."

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" Hornet shouted, wiping away tears and quickly regaining her rage. "GET GOING!!"


	4. A Mer's Worst Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK So I swear I put this in a previous chapter but I must have forgotten ^^; so the fish that the Main Cast are based off of:  
> Ghost is a Beta Fish, Hornet is a Tiger Shark, Quirrel is a Giant Isopod, Tiso is a Giant Moray Eel, Cloth is a Sea Lion, and Myla is a Mudskipper.  
> Sly, Mato, Oro, and Sheo are just humans though

The small shoal of Mers followed Cloth’s lead, past the reef of Rivermouth and the Kelp Forests of GreenKelp. They were entering the shoreline, a dangerous place for Merfolk. The shoreline had  _ humans _ , and even worse,  _ their filth.  _

They tried not to imagine Ghost stuck in a piece of garbage, or worse, being captured by one of the Radiance’s underlings.

“The trail’s dying around here.” Cloth said, slowing down. “I can’t track them anymore.”

“What do you mean the trail just  _ dies?”  _ Hornet growled. “It’s not like they were just  _ pulled out of the water?!” _

Quirrel tugged on her fin. “Maybe you’re right. Look.” He settled down on the seafloor, gesturing to trails in the sand. They were long and unnatural, looking as if something was dragged along the floor. “These look like tracks of some kind...maybe something grabbed them. Some sort of crustacean-”

“Those aren’t animal tracks,” Tiso interjected. “That’s a  _ net.  _ A  _ human. Net. _ ”

Hornet’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach. “So they  _ were _ pulled out of the water.”

“Come on.” Cloth said. “Let’s follow the new trail. Ghost is at the end of it, someway, somehow. I can feel it.”

"What if they got captured by the Radiance?” whimpered Myla. “Or just captured by any human! They must be so scared and cold and hungry and lonely-”

“There’s something floating at the top of the water. Maybe that could help?” Quirrel interrupted, swimming up to retrieve the mystery item. It was a small, white cylinder with a black end. It was made of a papery substance, with one end being burnt and seemingly charred away. “Lemm told me about these! They’re called  _ cigarettes,  _ and humans use them!....I don’t know what they use them  _ for,  _ however.”

Tiso cringed. “I can tell you this, they taste  _ terrible.” _

Hornet thought for a moment before snatching it from Quirrel’s webbed claws. “None of the Moths used these, if my memory serves…”

“Then we’re dealing with  _ other _ humans.” Cloth said. “Keep the cigarette, just in case. We may need to use them to track Ghost and the humans that caught them.”

“M-Maybe these can be nice humans!” Myla offered, sounding hopeful.

“Or maybe they can be  _ Worse _ .” Tiso hissed. “But think about how gracious they’ll be when we save them!” he paused for a moment but quickly began to explain his logic. “You guys all messed up earlier, really upset them. If we save them, they’ll be so happy, they’ll forget all the stuff you guys did!”

Cloth gave an exasperated sigh. “Tiso, you attacked them too.”

“No, I  _ didn’t. _ I would have remembered that.”

Hornet snarled, disgusted. “Tiso that’s the  _ dirtiest,  _ most  _ manipulative tactic _ I’ve ever heard of.” But at the same time...she wasn’t sure if Ghost could accept a basic apology. What if she apologized and they didn’t forgive her? Rescuing her sibling might be the key she needed for their love and forgiveness. “...Let’s hope it works then.”

“You seriously  _ agree  _ with that?!” Quirrel sputtered.

“Yes! Now get going!”

* * *

It was very early in the morning - it was still incredibly dark out - when the little fish child began to peep. Loudly. The Nailmaster Brothers were at a loss. Sly had merely rolled over in his sleep, mumbling about how it wasn't his problem.

"My child, what's wrong?" Mato stifled a yawn, reaching closer to pet the top of their head. “I wish you could tell us what’s troubling you.”

“Maybe...they miss the ocean?” Sheo asked, sounding wistful. And tired. Mostly tired. “They miss their home, perhaps?”

Oro snorted, lighting up a cigarette. A bit early for one, normally, but today had been anything but normal. “I’d be cranky too if I had the entire ocean as my bedroom and then three men shoved me into a shrimp tank.”

_ “Unhelpful.” _ Sheo scolded, smacking Oro in the back of the head.

"I thought we agreed not to put them back until they were healed?" Mato angrily hissed. "I'm not putting them back with a mangled tail!" He turned back to the child. “Come on, what’s wrong? Are you sad? Hurt?”

Oro frowned, leaning in front of the tank. “...where did all the shrimp go?”

The trio pondered this conundrum for a moment, then Sheo blurted out, “Oh, the little one’s  _ hungry _ .”

Barking out a laugh, Oro took a puff from his cigarette and disappeared into the kitchen. Mato, however, looked concerned. “Do you know what to feed them, Sheo?”

“Well, they like shrimp, apparently.”

Oro returned with a package of fish, filleted and ready to be cooked. He used his pocket knife to open the plastic packaging, the little Mer in the tank poking their head out of the water curiously. 

“Shouldn’t we cook that?” Sheo asked, placing a hand on Oro’s shoulder.

Oro shrugged the hand off. “We didn’t cook the shrimp, it’ll be fine.” and with that, he dumped the fillet in the tank, packaging included. The little Mer inched closer, sniffing the package with interest. But upon smelling the plastic and styrofoam container, it quickly backed up against the opposite wall of the tank in clear distress.

The little Mer peeped at the three, sounding scared. The Child even attempted to crawl out of the tank. Mato immediately scooped them up, settling their head in the crook of his neck, trying to ignore the wet scales sending a shiver up his spine. "They’re frightened of something.” He said, rubbing the child’s back to comfort. “But I’m not sure what exactly.”

Sheo hummed in reply, reaching into the tank to remove the package. "Maybe the light reflecting off the plastic?" He removed the piece of fish, then cautiously began to give it to the little Mer.

The little Mer snatched the piece of fish, tearing it into small pieces that could be easily chewed. Mato chuckled. "Heh, it must've been the plastic. Not a fan of shiny stuff, my child?"

"Or they've had bad experiences regarding it in the past." Oro grumbled. "There's lots of stuff in the ocean, you know."

An uneasy silence fell over the three. Mato broke it by saying, "Your cigarettes probably don't help."

"Don't try and blame me for everything, you piece of shit!" Oro snarled, pointing his lit cigarette at his brother. "I'm not the one dumping trash into the ocean! I toss in a single cig every now and then, and that's it!"

"Well you're not making things better!" Mato snarled back. "We've told you to knock it off!"

The child whimpered, their claws dug deep into Mato's clothing, hiding their face in the fabric.

**_"Both of you quit it."_ **

Mato rubbed the child's back in a comforting manner. "We can talk about this later,  _ without _ a small child in the room." Sheo said, voice low. "Little fish have big ears, as it seems."

"Oh  _ please _ ." Oro grumbled. "That thing can't understand a word we're saying. It's a fish. It can't even talk!"

"With you as company? I wouldn't talk either." Mato shot back, taking the child into another room to cool down.

Oro huffed, taking his cigarette and opening a window.

"So, you don't think the child's that smart, hm?" Sheo asked.

"It's a fish. Fish are dumb." Oro replied. "Why?"

Sheo thought for a moment. "How many do you think are left? How many have found your cigarettes floating in their waters?"

Oro said nothing. He slowly closed the window, dropping his cigarette in the trash instead.

* * *

Mato clambered up onto the boat, holding the child with one arm. “It’s nice to get out of the house, sometimes.” He said, sitting down on the side of the boat, feeling the sea gently rock the two onboard. “It’s so small, and the ship is like...a home away from home.”

The Child blinked at him, snuggling into the fabric of his shirt. Mato chuckled. “Plus, some sea air might be good for you! You don’t need to hear us fight, but with how often it happens, you probably will in the future.”

No reply from the Child, but Mato was used to that by now. Instead, the little Mer stared into the dark waters, painted black by the night sky. Mato wondered if their dark coloration helped them camouflage in the dark waters of the ocean. “...Do you want to go back, my child? Do you wish to return to the Ocean?”

Was it selfish of him to keep a Child of the Sea away from their home, injured or not? Sly told him stories of mermaids in his youth, their longing for the sea was something he could connect with, even at a young age. The oceans were their home, their guardians, everything for a mercreature; but the waters had not been kind to this little one.

The Child chirped, turning away from the waters and back to him. Mato laughed. “Well, you can stay for as long as you want, my child! But we may need to get you a better tank along the lines. Now, let’s go back inside before the waters decide to take you back regardless.”

* * *

The encroaching darkness didn’t slow the shoal of Mers in the slightest; they could see in the dark of the Ocean, and they could see in the darkness of the night as well. The net trail had vanished in the murky sand, but the cigarette from earlier got them back on - what they hoped to be was - the right path.

They bumped into the ship they were tracking - literally, with Myla banging her head on the hull. 

They were  _ dangerously _ close to the shoreline, near a strange, brown structure atop of stilts to keep them out of the rising tides. Lemm called them  _ Piers _ , with smaller variants called  _ Docks.  _ Humans used these to build and store their boats, from what Lemm explained. 

“So, this is the boat?” Hornet asked, her head peeking out of the waters, trying to hide in the shadows. She didn’t come this far to be spotted by some human.

Cloth nodded, making a face. “It reeks of cigarettes, this is the boat. Ghost must be  _ somewhere _ around here.”

“What if they’re still on the boat?” Tiso asked, trying to hide the exhaustion in his voice. They were all tired, swimming and searching for hours and hours on end without rest. Yet they continued their quest. They could rest once Ghost was safe and sound.

“Hornet.” Tiso said. “Hornet, get me up on that boat.”

She glared at him. His whining voice was getting on her nerves, and she hissed, “Why  _ you?” _

“Because-” he hissed back. “- I’m lighter than Cloth and Quirrel, and I’m better on land than  _ you.”  _

Hornet had to begrudgingly agree. She was terrible with moving on solid ground, she was best in the water. Tiso, meanwhile, could slither on land  _ or _ in water, and while he wasn’t the best, the idea of trying to haul Cloth or Quirrel made the Shark-Mer lightheaded. “...fine.”

It took a moment of mucking about for Hornet to get a decent grip on the slippery fool to hoist him over her head. And 'slippery' was  _ not _ an exaggeration. Hornet shuddered as she shifted her hold, growling, " _ Why are you slimy?!" _

"It's not  _ Slime _ ." He replied, sounding offended. "It's mucus, and you're lucky I'm not the poisonous type! Now, keep me steady, I'm about to climb up."

Hornet held her tongue as she felt him crawl up the side of the boat, the weight lifted from her shoulders. She slowly sank back under the water, telling the others, "He's on the boat." There wasn't much they could do while they waited for Tiso, waiting was all they  _ could _ do.

They dare not touch the sand below, afraid of the dangers lurking underneath the grains: shards of glass, nets, bits of sharpened plastic, more cigarette butts. They took the time, however, to take  _ some  _ sort of break, a rest for their aching muscles from so much swimming.

On the boat, Tiso slithered and crawled on the bridge, taking great, great care to avoid the fishing hooks and whatnot on board. He had no intention of getting fish hooks stuck in his fins. Again.

He found a strange box, cautiously opening it to reveal several unused cigarettes. He  _ was  _ rather starved, but cigarettes were a terrible, terrible snack, so he set the box back down. 

No sign of Ghost. 

Unwilling to give up that easily, Tiso slithered deeper into the ship, leaving a very clear trail of mucus as he went. It didn't bother  _ him,  _ this wasn't  _ his ship. _

"Ghost?" He called out, quiet as to not attract any unwanted attention, but loud enough for Ghost to hear him (hopefully). "Ghost, it's Tiso! And everyone else too! We're here to rescue you!" He tried again, opening boxes and buckets to peer inside. “I-I’m sorry! For everything! I can be better, I promise!”

No matter how hard he looked, Tiso couldn’t see Ghost anywhere in or on the boat. Hope waning, he looked inside a box of nets. Something shimmered in the tangled web of netting, and he reached inside to grab it. In his webbed hands was a small lock of deep black hair that seemed to glow and absorb light at the same time.

_ Jackpot. _

Tiso crawled to the side of the boat and tumbled into the water with a splash, swimming over to the group. “I couldn’t find them. But! I got this-”

Before he could explain, Hornet snatched the hair from his hand, observing it closely. “These are Ghost’s. They  _ must _ have been on that boat!”

“Well, they’re not there  _ now.”  _ Tiso hissed. 

Cloth swam to the surface to look at the Pier above. “They must be somewhere up there, on the Pier. If the boat is here, they can’t have gotten far.”

The rest joined her at the surface. “I believe we can get to the Pier using this Dock!” Quirrel explained. “They’re usually connected.”

“I-It looks like they’re connected with those steps there.” said Myla, pointing up.

Quirrel shook his head. “Those aren’t just steps, Myla. Those are  _ stairs.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Mer's worst fear....STAIRS...


	5. A Breakdown in Communication

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh something something happy holidays, here's my fish au

Stairs were an uncommon sight for merfolk; they had no use for them underwater, why  _ would _ they have stairs?

Unfortunately for them,  _ humans _ had stairs.

Typically speaking, merfolk have trouble moving on land. Some were better than others, some were worse, but the consensus was that merfolk belonged in the waters. Stairs? Inconceivable. But they had a rare turn of good luck in the form of Quirrel, had a gift that many Merfolk did not.

Quirrel had sturdy arthropod-like legs he could use to walk  _ and  _ swim.

“How do you suppose we climb those stairs?” Quirrel asked, as if he wasn’t the solution to the problem. Four pairs of eyes stared at him, silent. “...my friends, w-why is everyone staring at me-”

“FOR WYRM’S SAKE, QUIRREL,  _ YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE WITH LEGS!”  _ Hornet shouted. “WHO ELSE WOULD WE SEND?!”

He shrank away, arms crossed. “There’s no need to yell at me, you know. You could’ve just told me…And I might need help getting up onto the dock itself.”

The other mers struggled to get a decent hold on his armored shell and they continued to struggle as they tried to push him up and out of the water. Quirrel’s many legs skittered as he tried to find leverage, using the grooves in the old wood to help crawl up.

Once on the dock, Quirrel unsteadily swayed and skittered. Despite having legs, using them on land was still an adjustment. “Right, right. I think I’m alright!”

“Great!” Cloth said, giving a curt round of applause. “Now get up there!”

"Give me a moment, give me a moment." Quirrel muttered under his breath, holding the railing to the stairs as if his life depended on it.

"C'mon, Quirrel!" Tiso shouted, making no attempts to keep his voice low. "I've seen Sea Slugs that have moved faster!"

"Would you like to come up here instead?!" Quirrel hissed back, glaring at Tiso as he continued to climb. "Now, keep it down! I'm almost at the top."

The group went silent as Quirrel climbed the flight of stairs as stealthily as a large Isopod Merman could. 

The building on the Pier wasn't too large and appeared to be a shop of some sort. A small sign revealed it to be a sort of fish shop, although Quirrel could tell by the smell alone.

Taking care not to step on any loose boards, Quirrel went to the closest window to peer inside. He didn't see anything with a cursory glance - although it didn't look like any shop he knew of, shops didn't have  _ seating areas _ , did they? Maybe it wasn't a shop.

Upon a further inspection, Quirrel noticed several tanks inside the building, some containing lobster, some contained fish, and one...one contained a large fish with grey scales and black fins-

"Ghost! That's Ghost!" He whispered, pressing his face against the glass. Was the little pup asleep? Unconscious?  _ Dead?! _

Stumbling over his own legs, Quirrel frantically skittered back down the stairs. "They're in there! Ghost! I found them!" He proclaimed, leaning over the dock to properly talk to the others. "B-But I need backup! I don't know the nature of this place...but it had several fish tanks inside...I fear it's one of the Radiance's smaller operations!"

They began talking over one another, "Is Ghost OK?" "Did you see anyone?" "Are they safe?"

Hornet's voice stood out from the others.  _ "Quirrel, take me up there." _

Quirrel gawked at her request. "Miss Hornet, no offense, but you're not the best on land, that's why you sent me-"

"We can both go!" She insisted, pulling herself onto the dock. "I need to see them. I  _ have _ to rescue my sibling. Please, Quirrel,  _ please." _

"I think that's the first time I've ever heard her use the word 'please'." Tiso scoffed.

"Tiso, I will  _ gut you like the eel you are _ . Quirrel, please!" Hornet shifted on the dock, grabbing onto one of Quirrel's legs.

Quirrel sighed. "Oh, alright. But please, let's try a stealthy approach first? Maybe leave the needle behind."

She looked away for a moment to think, then handed her needle to Myla and Cloth for safekeeping. "Fine. I'll be quiet."

* * *

Mato woke to the sound of glass breaking. He had just gone to sleep after helping put the little one back to bed. At this rate, he definitely wasn't going to get a good night's sleep.  "Christ, who would want to rob us?" He muttered, scratching the side of his face. "Unless they want fish-"

_ The Child. What if they wanted the Child? _ Mato had seen shitty B-List monster films from the Fifties. Where a supernatural entity went, the Government and evil scientists weren't far behind.

Mato silently got out of bed and grabbed a baseball bat. He was, unfortunately, one of the lightest sleepers in the house. Sly took his  _ old man meds _ to help him sleep and his brothers slept like rocks. 

As he crept down the stairs, Mato could hear someone - or some _ thing  _ \- moving in the kitchen. Muted shuffling, the squeaks of something wet on the floor, clicking? What the hell?

In the early morning moonlight, Mato saw two things that could only be described as  _ ‘creatures’ _ in the kitchen. One of them, tall with an assortment of spindly legs like hooks, scrapping marks into the wood floorboards, possibly digging tiny holes to leave behind. It's lower half, stocky and rounded, glistening with some form of moisture to highlight its shrimp-like tail, a pair of antennae twitching in the air. The second creature, on the other hand, whose body laid flat upon the floor, surrounded by broken shards of glass. Unlike its companion, this one possesses a more slender body, tapering down below what seemed to be hips into a recognizable tail. Some form of shark, perhaps? No... no, sharks don't adorn a pair of slender horns on top of their heads.

The two hadn’t noticed him yet, the stockier one skittering closer and closer to the tank holding the Child.  _ His _ Child.

“THERE’S  _ THINGS _ INSIDE THE HOUSE!” Mato shouted, storming down the rest of the stairs, baseball bat at the ready. “DA! SHEO, ORO!”

The stockier of the two creatures yelped in surprise, its many legs scrambling as it retreated. The one on the floor glared daggers at Mato, eyes glowing with hints of orange. Arching its back like an angry cat, the Shark creature snarled and hissed and spit like the feral raccoon that tried to steal from the Brother’s trash cans.

The ruckus had woken up the Child from their slumber, and upon seeing the other two creatures, burst into fearful sobbing and chirping. Their frightened cries snatched the attention of both creatures, their glowing eyes fixated on the Child with unknown intent.

Mato stood in front of the tank, pointing the baseball bat at the two of them. “Oh no, oh no you don’t! You can’t have them! That’s My Child!”

The shark creature growled in reply, tail lashing in rage. Its tail bumped and hit the cupboards and counters, knocking utensils and more glass onto the floor to shatter. “Hey, HEY! You’re breaking everything! Get out! Beat it, you overgrown sardines!”

The many-legged creature still stared at the tank, antennae twitching and slowly drooping. It made no effort to move or fight back, it just stood and stared. “...my friend?”

Mato slowly lowered his bat. “Did...did you just talk?-” But his question was interrupted when the shark creature darted forward, sinking its fangs deep into his leg. Mato screamed in pain, trying to shake the creature off him. He got aid in the unlikely form of the many-legged creature, pulling the shark off him.

Once pried apart, the shark creature convulsed, claws scratching deep into the floor as it struggled to gain traction. It heaved, coughing up bits of fishing nets and glowing orange gunk

Finally -  _ finally! -  _ Sheo and Oro stomped down the stairs. “Mato, what the  _ fuck _ are you yelling about?!”

Sheo, being a bit more perceptive, said, “Are those  _ other Merfolk?!” _

“YES! They’re trying to take the Child! And one of them bit me!”

Oro loudly sighed, going to the nearby wall. “You don’t use a baseball bat to scare fish people, you use  _ this.” _ He said, reaching for the harpoon gun on the wall. Sly had banned the trio from using it, ever since they were trigger-happy teenagers, but strange situations called for unusual solutions. 

Upon seeing the harpoon gun, both creatures went into a blind panic. The many-legged creature reached down and grabbed the shark by the middle. The shark creature was very upset with this, but the other creature paid it no mind. Skittering away from the brothers, the creatures stumbled out the (broken) sliding glass door.

Sheo reached out for them. “Wait, hold on, I’m sure we can discuss-” But his words came too late. The many-legged creature, after hoisting the shark over its shoulder, legs scrambling to compensate for the new weight. It failed.

Legs buckling, the many-creature tripped and fell down the pier stairs, taking the shark creature with it. Sheo ran out to try and help them, but the two tumbled down the stairs, off the dock, and into the water with a great splash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a lot of people were asking for what the characters look like! And all I had were a handful of old sketches. So in between writing this and other fics, I managed to get decent refs for Tiso and Hornet, who are based off an Eel and Shark respectively!
> 
> https://64.media.tumblr.com/34211a8d38709175dc5863f349d10d50/2dfe3460fcef809f-8b/s1280x1920/72132ac0427694b7664fc79a1f259c45eac49ce1.png   
> Here is Hornet ^^
> 
> https://64.media.tumblr.com/56049c518c3633073eca784f7d1c7479/f070df0ab81432be-25/s1280x1920/7d075c354bb5f97705ea675453e2c6dd1fea5a07.png  
> And here is Tiso ^^


	6. First Contact

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to look up if they still sold Sardines in cans for this chapter don't @ me I'm vegetarian
> 
> And if the GangTM seem really cranky and irritable, they've been running on anxiety and fumes for about a day and a half. They're tired and starving and just want their baby back plz

Cloth’s claws idly scratched into the wooden boards of the pier, spiralling out into patterns and swirls. Below her, Myla dug in the filthy, cigarette butt ridden sands. Briefly, Cloth thought about warning her of the cigarettes, but for the time being, she gave Myla the benefit of the doubt.

“Tiso, you’re not going to catch anything here. The water’s too shallow for fish.” Cloth said, glancing over to the aforementioned eel. Tiso was very clearly in ‘Hunting Mode’: his body low to the ground, but he was using his long, shiny tail as a sort of lure. It wouldn’t work, of course, there weren’t any fish in the dirty waters. “‘Sides, I don’t think anything you find here would be exactly... _edible.”_

Tiso’s posture visibly slumped, his tail lowering and curling around him in the sand. “And how would _you_ know that?”

Cloth gestured to the water around them in an exaggerated manner. “The water is nearly _brown,_ Tiso, use your head!”

Myla poked her head out of the sizable hole she had dug. “H-How do you think-k it’s going with Q-Quirrel and Hornet?”

“Let me see…” Cloth swam to the surface, keeping her head barely above the waves. She heard the shattering of glass and loud, masculine shouting. She sank back down with a disappointed sigh. “I don’t think it’s going well. We should have just sent Quirrel. I know Hornet’s taking this poorly, but I don’t think she’s helping much.”

“I’m gonna tell her you said that.” Tiso hissed in a teasing manner. 

“Do it, I dare you. I’m not afraid of her.”

Interrupting their squabble was a loud splash as Quirrel and Hornet fell from the dock. “Oh! T-They’re back!” Myla chirped. “H-How did it go?”

“Well truth be told, Myla, it went _awful!”_ Quirrel hissed in reply once he repositioned himself in the waters. “And I place the blame squarely on miss Hornet!”

Hornet angrily sputtered for a response, taking a moment to cough up orange sludge. “It was _NOT_ my fault, Quirrel! Those humans were _dangerous_ , and you failed to realize that, apparently!”

“I asked you, _specifically,_ to let me find a way inside. Instead, you broke the glass and alerted the humans inside! What happened to the _stealth_ approach?!”

Grunting in pain, Hornet worked on removing specks of glass embedded in her tail. As she pulled out a particularly large piece, she snarled, “That _was_ me being stealthy-”

“And then! And then!” Quirrel continued to shout, not done with his angry tirade. The waters around him swirled as he lashed his tail in irritation. The others floated nearby, unsure or unwilling to step in between the two. “Instead of trying to communicate, you lunge forward and bite one of them! What were you thinking?!”

“I was thinking that they have my sibling imprisoned, Quirrel!” Hornet snarled back. “These are not humans we can reason with! Your time with Lemm has led you to believe that humans are good! But they are _NOT!”_ Aggressively gesturing to the dock above, she added, “You saw Ghost! The moment they woke up, they displayed signs of clear signs of distress. Those humans are _dangerous_ , Quirrel. _Humans_ are dangerous-”

The fight was interrupted by heavy steps on the dock above them and the twang of metal. A harpoon shot through the murky waters, piercing through several boards of wood and embedding itself in the filthy sands. Myla, who was nearby, barely avoided the sharpened end of the weapon by a hair. 

All of the mers went dead quiet, barely moving to keep themselves floating in the water. They could hear shouting muffled by the waves and the heavy stomping of footsteps on wood. Myla stifled a distressed noise as she reached for Cloth. Tiso sank deeper into the water, his long tail curling itself into anxious knots. Hornet’s breathing quickened as the steps grew closer and closer-

Until they stopped. Then, slowly, they grew fainter and farther away, before disappearing entirely. The group took a collective deep breath once they were sure the human was gone.

“So.” Cloth finally said. “I think it’s time for a Plan B.”

* * *

“Oro, please tell me you didn’t _actually_ fire the harpoon gun.” Sly scolded, a bit preoccupied with wrapping Mato’s wound. “I’ve told you not to unless absolutely necessary.”

“It was a necessity, dad!” Oro replied, tossing the gun on the couch. “There were fish people breaking our windows! Breaking into our house! I literally cannot think of a better reason to use the harpoon gun.”

Sly sighed, “I can’t disagree much with that. Don’t do it again.”

“And one of them _bit me_ , dad!” Mato interjected. “It hurt like Hell! What if it gets infected? One of them coughed like it was sick, am I going to get some sort of disease?!”

“Then we’ll amputate.” Sly gave him an affectionate pat on the leg. “And if the hospital won’t do it, I will.”

“...thanks, dad.”

Sheo was currently holding the Child, who was silently crying into his chest. The incident with the merfolk breaking into the house had sent them into a sobbing, shivering mess of scales. However, the trio and their father couldn’t tell if it was the experience alone, or if the Child _knew that merfolk_. Could the mers be the cause of the Child’s injuries? They weren’t sure.

“You know, instead of going right for the harpoon gun, we should’ve tried to communicate with them.” Sheo mused, stepping forward to the pile of broken glass and what looked to be orange slime. “...that’s...odd.”

“Sheo, I knew you were busy with the Child, but you _did_ see that one of them bit me, right?” Mato snapped. “I hate to agree with Oro-”

“HEY!”

  
  
“-but I don’t think communication was possible.” Then, Mato’s tone shifted to a thoughtful one as he absentmindedly scratched his fresh bandages. “Although...I swore I heard one of them talk.”

“The little one can’t talk, I doubt others would be able to,” Sly said dismissively. “Their vocal cords might be different from ours. Or maybe they don’t even have them in the first place.”

Sheo suddenly pried the child from his chest and plopped them into Sly’s arms. “Here, hold them for a moment. Something’s not right here.” He returned back to the glass and orange slime, now noticing the red smears of blood mixed in. The creature must have been hurt. “Mato, you said one of them began coughing, right?”

“Hm. The shark looking one. Skinny too.” he replied in confirmation.

Sheo cautiously stuck a finger in the orange goo. It smelled vaguely sweet, but it burnt his fingers. Was it slightly acidic? “Oro. Remember last week, when we caught those weird looking fish?” 

Oro nodded, stepping closer. “Yes. All the fish were rotten on the inside and covered in orange lumps. We couldn’t even turn them into chum, they were so bad. Why? Wait, don’t put your fingers in that! Gross!”

“I think there’s something wrong with whatever came into the house. Maybe even the ocean outside our very door.” Sheo said, his voice grim. “There’s something greater at play here.”

“An algae bloom?” Sly offered, shifting his hold on the still sobbing Child. “There are red tides, you know.”

“There haven’t been any storms recently, dad,” said Oro. “And this stuff looks orange. I’ve never heard of an orange tide.”

Sheo wiped the gunk off his fingers and began rummaging through the cupboards, pulling out an old can of sardines. They had bought it long ago, but it had been left abandoned in the back of the pantry. “This might need more investigation.”

“The hell are you doing with that?” Sly asked.

Sheo shrugged as he opened what remained of the sliding glass door. “Hopefully, I’m going to establish contact with our watery friends. Wish me luck.”

* * *

Sheo slowly descended the stairs down to the dock, taking care to step lightly. He briefly remembered his time at an aquarium when he was young, the fish in the tanks darting away when his two brothers ran up to press their faces against the tanks, making it impossible to look at the tropical fish. From what little he saw of the incident earlier, at least one of the mers seemed skittish, so heavy footsteps might scare them away.

If they were even still here.

Dark storm clouds covered the entire sky. If the sun had risen, he couldn’t tell. The ocean waters seemed calm for now, but Sheo cursed the murky nature of the water by the pier, making it nearly impossible to see into it.

He saw a large hole in the middle of the dock, no doubt when Oro launched the harpoon. Sheo shook his head disapprovingly and stepped over it. Standing at the edge of the dock, he cracked open the can of fish, letting the salty brine drain into the waters. Part of him hoped that this would attract _something_ , like the chum they used, but less concentrated.

“Uhm.” _What was he supposed to say, exactly?_ “Greetings...neighbors? Do you live nearby? I’m...I’m sorry about my brothers. They can be rather rash at times. They were just. Startled. And I have an inkling that you were too.” The black waters offered him no reply. Wordlessly, he set down the tin of sardines at the edge of the dock and began to walk back to the steps.

Then, Sheo sat down on the damp stairs and waited. And waited.

Just as he was about to give up and go back inside, Sheo saw something. A sort of glimmer at the edge of the dock. A pair of glowing white spots. Sheo sat very still, knowing that those weren’t spots at all - those were eyes. There was someone staring very intently at the can of sardines at the end of the dock.

Sheo didn’t feel frightened, though. He felt strangely excited and curious. Besides, whatever this was, they were much more interested in the sardines than him. He squinted, trying to determine what this mer looked like in the darkness. This one didn’t look like one of the mers in the house earlier. Could this be a potential _third_ one?

Despite the darkness, Sheo could see this mer had darker skin and black, damp hair that stuck to its face. It also wore a hood and had the previously mentioned glowing eyes. Webbed hands gripped the edge of the dock, fingers ending with claws. The creature momentarily dipped back down, face hidden from view. Sheo was frozen, torn between watching the creature more, or standing up and trying to introduce himself.

He settled on remaining still. Maybe he could get them used to his presence like one does with birds. He continued to watch, fascinated, as the mer poked its head above the dock once more, now beginning to reach an arm out for the can. He noted the speckling of blue scales on the arm, with the addition of small scars.

Just as the mer’s claws scraped the edge of the can, something tried to pull it back in. The mer angrily snarled at the force trying to pull it into the water, claws digging into the wood for some sort of grip.

Then, a voice came from just below the waves. It was sharp, but eloquent, with the hint of a lisp if one listened carefully. It was spoken in English, but the tone was distinctly _inhuman._ “What do you think you’re doing?!” The voice hissed, nearly lost in the gentle crashing of the waves. 

Then, the mer desperately trying to reach the cans replied, still with a strange, inhuman voice, “What does it look like?! Let me go! I’m so close-!”

“You _can_ talk!” Sheo exclaimed, standing up suddenly. The mer on the dock yelped in surprise, scrambling backward in confusion. It landed in the water with a splash, and Sheo ran to the edge of the dock for a closer look.

The young man saw five pairs of glowing eyes staring back at him before quickly swimming under the dock to hide. Immediately, he felt rather guilty of the whole affair. They could _speak_ and _think._ And he had frightened them enough to cause them to hide. “I’m sorry again!” He called out to them, part of him wanting to stick his head under the water to see them more clearly. Instead, he grabbed the can of sardines and tossed them into the water, watching it sink like a stone.

“The others.” Sheo mumbled, turning to head up the stairs. “I’ve got to tell the others.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I was more unhinged I'd write more Mer Stuff, like how Markoth and Xero meet, or how they awaken the dreamers, and stuff like that. Would you guys be interested?


	7. Oro Throws Hands with an Eel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So inspired by this AU and my Fic, I messed around with the soundtrack from the games to make it sound like it's Underwater! :D Queen's Garden's and Resting Grounds are my favorite, here's a link!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgKQhVOn-us

The shoal of merfolk watched as the can broke the surface of the water and slowly sank to the sandy floor. Not a single one of them made a move until the footsteps grew fainter and fainter.

Quirrel sighed, “I don’t know how many scares like that I can take…”

“I can eat that now, right?” Tiso mumbled, pointing at the can of sardines resting against the sands. 

“No, you can’t! Those were most  _ definitely  _ a trap, and no doubt poisoned you fool!” Hornet snarled, tugging on Tiso’s hood and fins.

“Thanks to  _ some mers-” _ Cloth growled, giving Tiso and Hornet pointed looks, “-We’ve revealed our positions. I think a new plan is in order.”

“I say we find Lemm, update him on the situation, and see if he can help.” said Quirrel. “He may be able to communicate the situation to these humans better than we can, perhaps convince them to free Ghost! Or at the very least, assist in  _ some _ way.”

Myla nodded, claws digging into the wood of the dock leg she was hiding behind. “I-I like Lemm. He’s nice.”

Clearly unhappy with the plan, Hornet hissed, “Why are we getting  _ more _ humans involved? We can easily take care of the situation at hand with proper planning and a more aggressive, tactical approach-”

“I am NOT going back up there.” Quirrel crossed his arms over his chest. “You can drag your tail up those stairs  _ yourself.” _ This threat caused the princess to glower at him, but she went silent.

“Although, I don’t like the idea of leaving Ghost alone here. One of us should stay here, in case something happens.” said Cloth. “I think-”

Hornet interrupted her. “I’ll stay. Leave me here, go see Lemm.”

“Ooohh  _ no. _ Miss Hornet, your behavior has been rather erratic at best.” Quirrel shook his head. “I don’t think you should be left alone, especially after what you did in the human abode.”

Before Hornet could defend herself, Cloth stepped in, “I agree. You and Quirrel should go at the very least.”

“Then who’s staying?” Asked Tiso, not-to-subtly eyeing the can of sardines. 

“I-I have an idea!” Myla chirped, raising a hand into the air to gather their attention. “Cloth, Tiso, and I c-can go down and grab a cigarette butt, a-an-and whoever has the smallest one stays!”

The others agreed, Tiso begrudgingly so. The three mers took a moment to sift through the sand to find their cigarette. When they grouped back up after a minute of searching, it was Tiso who’s cigarette was the smallest, barely the size of one of his claws.

“Oh, that’s a shame, really is,” Tiso said, trying too hard to fake disappointment in his voice. “Guess I’ll  _ have _ to stay.”

“You looked for a small one on purpose, didn’t you?” Quirrel asked, sounding suspicious.

Tiso flicked the cigarette in Quirrel’s general direction with a barking laugh. “You wound me, Quirrel. Are you implying I would rather stay here and take a nap instead of swimming to only Gods know where Lemm might be? I’m  _ hurt.” _

“Or he doesn’t wanna go too far from Ghost.” Cloth said, smirking.

Tiso glared at her, jabbing a finger into her chest as he growled, “HEY. We spent TWO DAYS trying to find the little brat, I’m not losing them AGAIN. I’m going to stay RIGHT HERE unless I know something’s going on, OK!?”

“I’m right then.”

“NO. YOU’RE STUPID.” 

Hornet grabbed Tiso’s shoulders and spun him around to face her. “You listen to me, Tiso, and you listen  _ good.” _

“H-Hey, quit digging your claws into my shoulders-”

“This isn’t a  _ break _ for you, Tiso. You still have a job to do. I do  _ not _ want you to leave this post, nor do I want you to interact any further with those humans!”

He shrugged off her clawed grip, rubbing where she dug her claws in the deepest. “Fine, fine. I’ll be out of sight.”

“And Tiso? If they offer you food,  _ you’re not allowed to eat any.” _

“What?! Now that’s just cruel-”

“No, listen to her.” Cloth insisted. “Stay out of sight, keep an eye on Ghost,  _ that’s it.” _

Tiso grumbled under his breath, but he was ignored by the others, more focused on Quirrel beginning to speak. “Alright, I believe I know where Lemm  _ should  _ be, I’ll lead the way.”

* * *

It was still early in the morning, but no longer pitch black outside. The sun had risen, hidden by dark storm clouds. There was no rain or thunder, and according to the weather report, there wouldn’t be for several more hours.

Lemm was currently inside the small home nestled on the rocky beach. He was renting it, for the time being, its ramshackle appearance and terrible location keeping it nicely within his budget. Part of him was tempted to buy the place, he had grown used to the town and locals. 

And by ‘locals’, he meant the population of Merfolk in the bay. He didn't _ mean _ to stumble across a hidden, partially dying civilization; Lemm was just an oceanographer looking for fossilized shells. But they seemed to take a shine to him.

...well, one in particular, at least.

They were strange folk, and he accepted that. Quirrel  _ loved _ to help Lemm in his studies in exchange to know more about human culture. The others seemed to at least  _ tolerate _ his presence.

Lemm took a slow, thoughtful sip of his tea as he looked around the house. 

And then a rock smashed through his window.

He nearly spat out his tea, but took a moment to take a deep breath and set the mug down before investigating. Sifting aside the broken glass, Lemm picked up the still wet rock, glancing outside the now broken window.

Rolling his eyes, he grabbed his coat and stepped outside. The house was set very close to the beach. (A bit too close, honestly. He wondered how they managed to build the damn thing sometimes). Right outside his front door was the beach. Made of both gravel and sand with huge, black rocks jutting out of the sand further in.

Lemm tugged on his jacket to help against the sudden wind as he walked closer to the water, crunching against the gravel as he walked. "I hope you're not trying to break my windows for  _ fun. _ " He loudly said, talking in the direction of the open waters.

Four merfolk poked their heads from behind the black rocks. Lemm sighed. "You know you don't need to hide around me, right? It's just me here."

"We need your help." Quirrel said, skittering closer to the shore. The others followed close behind but stayed in the comfort of deeper waters. "It's with Ghost."

Lemm felt something cold drop into the pit of his stomach. Ghost,  _ the only pup left. _ "W-Wha? What happened?"

A sudden, tense silence fell over the merfolk. They seemed to look at one another, waiting for someone to pipe up. 

Hornet spoke up first. Her voice quivered slightly, very unlike her usual clear, concise tone. “Humans. Humans took them away.”

Immediately, Lemm panicked. “Who? Who took them?”

Hornet spoke again. Lemm could see the odd looks the others were giving her as she said, “Humans. Three of them that look the same.”

_ Something wasn’t adding up here. _ He was missing key details. Lemm frowned, scratching at his beard. “So you’re saying humans captured them? How? Did they come to the reef? Did Ghost swim out too far?”

Tensing up, Hornet looked away, quietly stammering under her breath.  _ Bingo.  _ Lemm huffed, placing his hands on his hips. “There’s something you’re not telling me. If you don’t tell me  _ everything, _ then I can’t help you.” And with that, he waited, letting the pressure build.

He stared at Hornet, convinced she would be the first to crack. Instead, she stared back, motionless. Quirrel and Cloth refused to make eye contact, looking away from the human with shame.

Myla was the one to give in to the pressure, bursting into loud wails and sobs, thick tears rolling down her cheeks. “W-WE ATTACKED THEM!! W-W-WE WERE I-INFECTED, AND AND AND, LITTLE GHOST…!!” 

Lemm pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. In response to Myla’s loud cries, Cloth and Quirrel bowed their head, with the former giving Myla a comforting pat on the back. Hornet thrashed her tail and dipped back into the water, re-emerging several yards away, trying to hide behind one of the rocks. 

Lemm sighed. He sighed again. He had taken samples of the strange, almost otherworldly orange pollution that contaminated the waters of the bay. It caused physical and mental damage; clogging the body full of chemicals and altering the mind of any fish or mer that had any contact with the stuff. But with water being a universal solvent, it was  _ impossible  _ not to have contact with the strange, orange pollution.

(Lemm had gleamed that the merfolk knew more than they wanted to admit about the orange slime. Whenever he was asked, Quirrel would quickly clam up about the topic. No one else was willing to give up information, much to Lemm’s chagrin.)

“You didn’t want to tell me, because you all felt guilty, hm?” Lemm asked, looking to Quirrel for answers.

“We weren’t thinking clearly, Lemm.” Cloth finally spoke as she continued to comfort the sobbing Myla. “None of us were. We blacked out and when we were aware once more, Ghost had fled.”

Waving a hand to silence her, Lemm said, “I know, I know. That orange stuff corrupts the mind in large doses. It’s in your water, in your food, I’m surprised you’ve all lasted this long with your mind intact.” he gestured to the still-hiding Hornet, who ducked back under the waters as he did so. “What’s her deal?”

One of Quirrel’s legs anxiously scraped the gravel and sand. “She’s taking this perhaps the hardest. Her guilt and shame is _ immense, _ Lemm. We’re honestly a touch worried.”

Feeling around his pockets for his car keys, Lemm said, “We can talk later. Tell me where Ghost is.”

* * *

Tiso surfaced for what felt like the hundredth time. He stared long and hard at the building on the pier above, looking and listening for anything out of place. There were no dangerous-looking humans loitering about, nor were there the screams of Ghost being hurt. Satisfied with this, he dipped back into the murky water.

He may have talked big earlier, but Tiso was just as scared and stressed as everyone else. He was much too high-strung to even  _ consider _ sleeping. It was nice, however, to be able to take a ‘sitting’ position against one of the dock legs. It was only a matter of time before he grew anxious once again, enough to poke his head out of the water.

Just as he surfaced once more, Tiso heard footsteps on the dock. Instead of vanishing back into the water, he swam underneath the wooden boards to eavesdrop.

“It was here, right here. I saw the creature right here, Oro.”

Tiso felt himself go tense, his long tail wrapping around one of the dock’s legs. It sounded like two humans were walking on the dock - Hornet and Quirrel had claimed the house had three identical looking humans inside, but he didn’t believe them. Maybe they were telling the truth?

“And you’re saying you lured a mythical Mermaid onto our very dock with a can of stale sardines?” a second voice asked.

_ “Stupid can of fish.”  _ Tiso grumbled under his breath. Hornet refused to let him eat it, so it sat several yards away in the sand,  _ taunting him. _

“That must be one desperate fish. I think I’d rather die than touch a canned sardine.”

“I have a theory, but I need more evidence. Anyway, I only had to wait a few minutes for one to show up. You should’ve seen the glowing eyes it had!”

“Calm down, Sheo. Who’s to say it’s even still here? Give me a moment and I’ll get my camera.”

But Hornet’s words were still fresh in his mind. He was not allowed to interact with these humans, and after today, he did  _ not _ want to be at the end of her claws. He could feel himself stewing in his irritation, growling quietly.

“I think I heard something! Like a growl? It must be close-”

“Why don’t you leave me alone?!” Tiso snarled, much louder than he intended. 

“...huh, you were right. It  _ can  _ talk.” Came one of the voices, and Tiso so desperately wanted to sink into the sea. Hornet was going to  _ kill him. _

“I’m sorry, my friend. Can we see you, please? If you are the one I saw earlier.”

Well, he had already crossed the line, might as well keep going. But Tiso wasn’t  _ completely _ stupid, he was just stressed and hungry. He wanted a bit of distance between him and the humans above, so he swam to the edge of the dock in order to make his appearance.

He grabbed the edge of the dock, pulling himself out of the water, but he made sure only to keep his head and shoulders visible. “Go. Away.” He growled, keeping his voice loud and clear.

(Lemm had once said that the merfolk talked too loud on the surface, so used to water muffling their voices. Lemm had also said they had accents, that while perfectly understandable most of the time, occasionally slurred together with the clicks and growls that were common in merfolk speech patterns.)

One of the humans laughed, “He reminds me of you, Oro.”

The other human - presumably Oro - didn’t reply. Instead, he frowned and lit a cigarette. 

Quirrel was right; the two humans were very similar in appearance. But Tiso could deduce that the one currently smoking was Oro, and the other was Sheo. He was already a bit confused, but he tried not to think about it.

“We don’t want to hurt you, my friend.” Sheo gently encouraged. “You’re quite an interesting fellow, hm!”

Oro took a drag from his cigarette. “Hmph. The Child can’t speak and their colors are dull...did we rescue a defective one?”

Tiso felt his blood boil, a visceral hiss in his throat. He hoisted himself further onto the dock, tail lashing and fins flared, “How DARE you! They’re not DEFECTIVE! And we want them _ BACK!” _

Sheo stood, taking a step back from the enraged mer, but Oro remained. Almost amused, he asked, “Well, if they’re  _ yours, _ you didn’t do a very good job keeping them safe. We found them half-dead,  _ alone.  _ Explain yourself. _ ”  _

Taken aback by the sudden barrage of accusations and questions, Tiso floundered for a response. In the time he took to think of an answer, Oro stepped closer, as if taunting him. “Those bite marks didn’t look like fish or animals I’ve seen. Did you do it? Did you and your friends come to finish the job?”

Tiso  _ exploded.  _ “I  _ NEVER  _ HURT THEM!” He snarled. “I NEVER HURT THEM! I WAS INNOCENT! IT WAS THE OTHERS WHO ATTACKED THEM-”

“So it  _ was _ you guys.” Sheo muttered. “You were the ones who hurt them.”

With two sentences, Tiso’s red-hot rage shifted into icy-cold dread.  _ No. No no no.  _ “W-What?! No, no! It wasn’t me! Please, you can’t keep them!”

“And what, give them back to  _ you  _ lot?! Oro shouted, causing Tiso to flinch back. “We’re going to keep them for as long as they need! And if needed, I  _ will _ get the harpoon gun again!” Then, he turned to Sheo. “Come on. We gotta tell Mato and Dad.”

Sheo gave Tiso a long, almost disappointed look. Tiso wanted to sink into the sands and never come back out. He had single-handedly ruined any chances of talking out the problem, and maybe ruined the chance of  _ ever _ getting Ghost back.

Slowly, slowly, Tiso felt himself slide off the dock and back into the sea.

* * *

Mato perked up as someone knocked on the door. “Can someone get that? I’m injured!” He called out into the house.

Oro gave his brother the smallest of glances before turning back to the Child in the tank. Oro enticingly wiggled one of the dog toys to encourage the scaly child to play. “Get it yourself. Your leg ain’t broken.”

Grumbling, Mato stood up and limped to the door. He opened the door to a sharp-dressed looking man with a medium-sized beard and glasses. He wore a jacket and screamed  _ “fuddy-duddy college teacher”. _

“Hello there! This is my dad’s store, but we’re closed due to strange circumstances-”

“Yes. I am aware.” The man answered, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. “Ah...this is a very weird conversation I need to have with you.” The man took a deep breath. “Listen uh. I think you stole my friend’s baby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HA! YOU THOUGHT TISO'S BLATANT DENIAL WAS JUST HIM BEING IN DENIAL! BUT NOOO, I HAVE TURNED IT AGAINST HIM! MUAHAHA


	8. Lemm's Got the Deets

Lemm had never had a door slammed in his face before. He  _ was _ spouting nonsense, though. How was he supposed to explain this?

He calmly walked to the other side of the pier, staring down into the water. "That didn't work."

Hornet emerged from the water, looking furious as usual. "That was a  _ pathetic _ attempt! Try! Harder!"

"This is harder than it looks." Lemm sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This is a very  _ strange _ situation, and it's easier said than done."

"Should I help?" Asked Quirrel, popping up beside her. "Maybe I could explain what happened?"

Lemm shook her head. "I think that might make it worse, Quirrel. Just...just let me try again, OK?" He frowned, taking a mental count of something. “We’re missing someone. Where’s the eel?”

“Who, Tiso?” Quirrel looked around, shrugging his shoulders. “He  _ should _ be around here somewhere...we asked him to stay behind.”

“Knowing him? I’m sure only good things happened.” Lemm rolled his eyes. “Right, I’m going to try to speak to them again, don’t wait up.”

Just as he turned to leave, he saw a glimpse of Tiso’s hood emerging from the water. He was very quiet, which was highly unusual. The first time he met the young mer, Tiso shouted profanities and threw a bottle, nearly hitting Lemm in the eye. Seeing him so quiet was concerning.

The others noticed as well. “Tiso, you look pale, is everything alright?” Asked Quirrel.

“He looks  _ guilty.”  _ Hornet hissed. “What did you do? I gave you very explicit instructions on what  _ not _ to do!”

“Well, I  _ didn’t _ take any of the food they offered me?” Tiso said, slowly, as if carefully considering each word. He had a sheepish sort of grin, but he was trying to inch away from Hornet and Quirrel at the same time.

Hornet looked surprised at his words. Lemm swore he saw a ghost of a smile on her face. “That’s...good. Good job.” But as quickly as it came, her smile died once more. “And what about the  _ other  _ thing I told you?”

“...what other thing?”

“I told you. Not to talk. To the other humans.” Hornet growled, her voice growing louder with each sentence. Lemm knew enough about merfolk body language and speech patterns to know she was  _ furious _ and moments away from murder. There was a fine line between “normal Hornet irritation” and “angry murder Hornet”, but she was close to crossing it.

“Oh.  _ That. _ ” Tiso’s smile shifted from ‘sheepish’ to ‘desperate’. “Uhm. I  _ may  _ have spoken to one. Or two.  _ AndImighthavementionedthatweattackedGhost-” _

“Alright have fun with that.” Lemm interrupted, quickly walking away from the inevitable murder. And as he began to walk away, he could hear furious snarling and hisses indicative of a very, very bloody fight.

Lemm knocked on the door again. “Please, I’m trying to help you! I didn’t properly explain what I wanted to-”

The door cracked open. “Sir, if you don’t leave, we’ll call the police.”

Sticking his foot in the crack to keep it from closing, Lemm said, “Fine! Call the police. But then you’ll never get an explanation about Ghost.”

At the mention of their name, Lemm could hear Little Ghost loudly peeping in the background. The man on the other side of the door paused, thinking. “...Ghost? That’s their name?”

“Yes. And I can tell you more about them if you let me in. My name is Lemm, and I’m a local marine biologist, I believe I can help.” Finally, Lemm managed to get  _ somewhere _ with these people. Namely, inside their house.

The front of the house resembled a small general store, offering this and that and everything in between. There were several tanks full of fish, but one seemed to be missing, leaving an obvious gap in the decor. Speaking of decor, it was tacky and very marine-oriented. Nets and mounted fish and the like. The back of the house was homier, with couches and chairs and  _ slightly _ less fishing memorabilia.

And in the middle of the room, being flanked by a man - that looked nearly identical to the man that opened the door - was the missing fish tank, holding Ghost inside. Seeing him, Ghost peeped and squeaked from excitement, pawing on the glass.

“I’m Mato,” the man that opened the door said. “And this is one of my brothers, Oro.”

Oro grunted in reply, eyeing Lemm suspiciously. “Mato, I thought you said this guy was a nutjob.” He hissed, making no effort to be quiet.

“He knows the Child! And the Child knows him, right?” Mato said, leaning closer to the tank. “Ghost?” At the mention of their name, Ghost’s head shot up in reply. “See? He knew their name!”

“Whoa. Ghost?” Oro said, blinking in surprise when the child turned to him. “So their name’s Ghost, huh?” He gave Lemm an odd look. “What  _ else _ do you know?”

“How about I sit down, and I’ll explain everything I know.” Lemm said, exasperated. “Compare notes, talk about a solution. Because we have a big problem here.”

Mato, looking concerned, asked, “Problem? What problem? Is the little one sick-”

“No, you have five mers outside, ranging from adolescents to adults, ready to tear this entire pier apart to get their pup back.” Lemm explained, brushing off the crumbs from an armchair and sitting down. “Especially their  _ sister. _ She’s completely furious.”

“Is she one of the ones that broke into our home?” A  _ third _ man entered the room, looking very similar to the other two. “I’m Sheo, by the way, we’re triplets.”

Lemm was confused by everything Sheo said, but focused on the more important tidbit. “They  _ broke in?! _ They failed to mention that to me!” He groaned, leaning forward with his head in his hands. “How about we start. By telling me what you three know.”

“It started just when the sun started to set yesterday. We were fishing, and we found the little one in our nets!” Mato began. “So we patched them up, took them in, and we’ve been taking care of them!”

“In the early morning, two of them broke into our home.” Said Sheo. “One looked like a lobster or a shrimp, and the other looked like a shark. They broke our sliding glass door and vanished back into the sea.”

“Then later, Sheo and I encountered a third one.” Oro jumped in. “We had an argument where they admitted that other merfolk caused the injuries to the little one. I’m not releasing them back into the sea, they’ll be eaten alive. Maybe even  _ literally _ .”

Before Lemm could reply, Mato shouted, “Yeah! I’m not letting my Child back into the dangerous waters! With more dangerous merfolk! And if you think I’m going to let strangers take my Child, you’re wrong!”

“OK, OK. Hold on.” Lemm finally jumped in. “So while they failed to mention the breaking and entering, I think I can fill in  _ some _ of the gaps here. Can I have a glass of water?”

“How about you start talking, and maybe I won’t throw you into the sea.” offered Oro.

“..fine.” Lemm stood and walked to the tank, ignoring the glares of all three men. He scratched behind Ghost’s ears, smiling softly. “I moved to this town several months ago. I didn’t mean to get involved with merfolk, I study marine fossils. But they got me involved. I’ve taken many notes about their behavior, their culture, what remains of their society.”

“Remains?” Sheo asked with a frown. “If they have a language and a culture, what happened to their society?”

Lemm struggled for an immediate reply. “I’m not. Entirely sure. But there’s something  _ wrong.  _ There’s some sort of pollutant in the water, you three are fishermen, right?”

“We make pies here, sir.” Oro deadpanned.

“Have you three noticed your fish with orange slime? Or other orange stuff inside or out?”

Sheo perked up. “Yes, I have. Is that the pollutant you’re talking about?” He paused, gears turning in his mind. “One of the mers that broke into our home started coughing up that orange stuff. Is there a connection?”

Lemm snapped his fingers. “Bingo. This orange shit is in the water, in the fish, in their food. It  _ affects  _ them. Physically and mentally. I have reason to suspect sixty to ninety percent of the merfolk population died out because of this pollutant.”

Reaching forward, Oro lifted Ghost out of the tank and away from Lemm. “If you’re so smart, and if the fish talk to you, why don’t you ask them?”

“I’ve  _ tried! _ They’re surprisingly tight-lipped about it. I have a sneaking suspicion they know more than they’re letting on.”

Mato cleared his throat. “Are you saying they... _ clam up?” _

“Mato, if I wasn’t holding the kid, I’d punch your lights out.”

“Right, bad pun aside-” Lemm said, regaining the conversation, “-this pollutant affects the mind, it drives them crazy! Makes them highly aggressive and very violent. They confessed to me that they had no recollection of hurting Ghost, and I believe the pollutant is getting worse. In fact, I have enough evidence to show that...well, I think little Ghost is the only pup left.”

Oro’s grip on little Ghost tightened, and he stroked their back in a comforting motion. “You’re saying that there are no other kids? Pups? Whatever? They’re just...dead?”

“That’s why they’re so upset, so protective, so...so  _ hellbent _ on getting the little one back. They’re all that’s left. And they’re all filled with guilt and remorse and fear.”

Sheo glanced out the window and into the sea beyond. “You’ve told us a lot, and I appreciate that. But...I still don’t feel comfortable letting the Child - Ghost - back out to sea. Their injuries are still healing, and letting them back with other mers doesn’t sit quite well with me.”

“Hm. Can I see the injuries?” Lemm asked, turning to Oro. Oro looked like he was about to stab him but reluctantly offered the squirmy pup to Lemm’s arms. Ghost peeped, seemingly happy with the three brothers. Lemm didn’t notice any signs of abuse, they were a good weight, and the injuries seemed to be well bandaged. Speaking of which-

Removing the bandages made Lemm wince. He could see the deep bite wound, the cut very clearly from a blade, and four jagged claw marks. “Yeah. Those are bad. But they’re healing nicely.”

Lemm was in a pickle. Both sides had no intention of backing down from their stance, he would have to make some sort of compromise. Maybe...just maybe, he could get it to work.

“Here’s my plan. I think you three should meet up with the merfolk. I’ll be there as mediator because I can be a great neutral party.” Lemm offered, carefully wrapping the wounds back up. “If you want my advice, I think you three should keep Ghost here until they’re healed, and then release them back into the sea. Ultimately, it’s where they belong.”

“That seems like the best plan to me.” agreed Sheo, nodding slowly. “We can’t keep them contained forever, we just don’t have space for it. Judging by the ones we’ve seen, our little one may not be little forever.”

“We can’t?” Mato sounded like all of his future birthdays were just canceled. “We could get a big tank for them!”

“In our tiny house? Be serious.” Oro huffed. Then, his voice grew softer. “Do...do you think we’ll see them again, once we release them?”

Lemm laughed. “I think you’ll have a bigger problem keeping them away! They love people and they love shoving their noses in places they don’t belong. All of them do!”

“So, when should we set up this meeting?” asked Sheo. “Tomorrow? Later today?”

“Well, the sooner, the better.” Lemm could only imagine how worse the stress and guilt could get in the mers if left to fester like some untreated wound. “I think the faster we calm them down and reach a compromise, the less likely it is for them to cause more trouble...like breaking and entering. Sorry for that.”

“Why are  _ you _ apologizing?”

“Because they probably won’t.”

* * *

“Lemm’s coming back!” Quirrel whisper-yelled, excitedly swishing his tail back and forth. The other mers partially emerged from the water, eager to hear what their human friend had to say.

Hornet was the first to ask the million-dollar question. “Where is Ghost? We asked for your help to retrieve them, where are they? Produce them at once!”

This was gonna be a bitch and a half to try and explain it to them. “I talked with the humans, and they seem very kind. They have no desire to hurt Ghost. Although, you never mentioned your  _ break-in attempt, Quirrel.”  _

Quirrel submerged himself up to his antennae, embarrassed.

“We didn’t think it was important.” Replied Hornet. “Where are you going with this?”

“You and the humans are going to try and  _ compromise  _ on a solution. Hm?”

The merfolk were  _ not happy.  _ They talked over one another, clearly angered and surprised by Lemm’s plan.  _ How was he sure these were ‘good’ humans? What if they went back on the compromise?  _

Lemm was growing tired by all the bickering and fighting. He reached a breaking point and barked, “That’s enough! I don’t want to hear a single peep from anyone, or else I’m shipping Ghost to the nearest  _ aquarium!” _

That certainly did the trick, all five of them immediately going dead silent. It was still evident that they were very irritated, judging by the death glares he was getting, but Lemm accepted this small victory. But he really wanted to drive the point home, so Lemm turned to one of the very few tools he had: shame.

  
“You five should be more than grateful I’m helping you. Breaking and entering. Trying to hide the fact you attacked a child. I saw Ghost’s wounds, and you’re very lucky I’m helping you. If  _ I  _ was Ghost? I would never want to see you again.” Lemm let his words sink in. “Now. We are going to have a calm. Rational. Civilized conversation about a plan I had. And I want all of you on your  _ best behavior. _ Got it? Good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm amazed I've gone this long without making a fish pun or a dad joke so I did both, you're welcome


	9. The End of the Tail

It was difficult for Lemm to keep an eye on his aquatic friends on a good day. Trying to herd five, incredibly irritable mers into one area felt like trying to move maple syrup uphill. In January.

It took Lemm a good while to get them to cooperate with him, gathering at the dock next to the brother’s home. It was decided Quirrel and Cloth would do most of the negotiations; Myla looked fit to burst into sobs at the drop of a hat, and Hornet and Tiso’s threats of violence did them no favors.

(Lemm noticed all the fresh cuts and bloody nose on the eel, and he correctly assumed they came from the scuffle with Hornet. That  _ certainly _ wasn’t going to help prove the merfolk were safe, responsible caretakers. Lemm told him to stay extra quiet.)

“Right.” Said Lemm, unsure how to start. Part of him could only think about how monumental this occasion was: a meeting between mer and humankind. If only the meeting could be in better circumstances. “So uh, should I introduce you guys?”

Sheo opened his mouth to reply, but Quirrel beat him to it. “No need, Lemm!” said Quirrel, beginning to climb on the dock. The three brothers took a step back as he fully hauled himself onto the creaking wood. He skittered closer, extending a hand in greeting. “Hello! My name is Quirrel. I was the one that broke into your home.”

None of the brothers took his hand. Ghost, currently curled up in Mato’s arms, curled up tighter with a frightened peep. Quirrel frowned. “Lemm, did I do something wrong?”

“Maybe we should focus on the matter at hand. The Child?” Sheo offered.

Quirrel looked down at Ghost, how they shied away from him. He nodded. “Right. Ghost. We want what’s best for them.”

Oro scoffed. “Yeah,  _ sure _ you do.”

The merfolk visibly bristled at the statement, the ones in the water muttering amongst themselves. Quirrel chuckled bitterly, “I can assure you, gentlemen, we still care deeply for Ghost, _ despite _ our brief lapse of sanity.” He smiled, and Lemm wasn’t sure if it was a genuine smile or a thinly-veiled threat display.

“I have a proposal that I hope will please both parties?” Lemm offered, stepping in between Quirrel and the brothers. “As you know, Ghost is injured, and needs time to heal-”

“Right! And we’re willing to do whatever it takes to make them better!” Hornet interrupted, an unusual, almost _ desperate _ tone to her pleading. It certainly got the attention of Little Ghost, who twisted themselves out of their curled position to stare at the other mers. "Lemm, I will do  _ everything _ in my power-"

Lemm cut her off. "Allow me to finish. I believe they should remain isolated from the ocean for the time being. To keep their stress minimal and encourage the healing process."

The merfolk mulled this over for a moment, decoding the intentionally flowery language Lemm used. Cloth was the first to decipher it. "You're saying that the little warrior should stay with these humans...until they're all better?"

"How long will that take?!" Hornet shouted, ignoring Cloth and Myla's attempts to calm her. "They can't keep my sibling!"

Mato blinked, surprised. "You're their sister?" He looked down at Ghost, then back to her. "You two barely look alike. How  _ old _ are you?"

"...half-sister. But they are still my sibling!" Hornet shot back.

"Hornet, calm yourself." Lemm said, tone firm. "We're doing this for Ghost, not you. They were the one hurt."

With that reminder, Hornet fell silent. Lemm continued. "I am unsure how long the healing may take. But once they're healed and ready, they will be returned to the ocean." He paused, waiting for the cheers and sighs of relief from the mers to stop.  _ Did they really think the brothers would keep Ghost forever? _

Once they settled down, Lemm finished his speech. "And Ghost will be in the care of these three brothers. I have determined them to be safe and responsible caretakers. But I will routinely check-in - if that is OK with you three."

Sheo and Mato nodded, and Oro huffed in response. "Of course. You're the expert, Lemm." Sheo said, voice calm. 

Tiso, who had been uncharacteristically quiet this entire time, hissed, "So what, are we just supposed to wait around?"

"Is your nose bleeding?" Asked Mato.

"Uh, yeah kinda. Hornet roughed me up a bit before we started for talking to you-" Cloth shoved his head underwater before he could finish.

"So. That's my plan. Any objections? Better ideas? I'm open to any." Lemm shrugged. He gave the merfolk a pointed look, knowing they would object the most.

Surprisingly, they were quiet. Murmuring to each other. Lemm could just barely make out half-baked plans involving more trespassing. He hoped they wouldn't go through with that.

Quirrel skittered a touch closer. "We agree with the plan."

Lemm let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Erm, under one condition."

"There's always a catch." Oro grumbled. "What is it?"

"I wish to speak to my sibling in private." Hornet said, "In the water. No humans."

Mato initially shook his head no. "Please, human. I  _ have _ to talk to them. I need to make my wrongs right." Hornet begged, sounding so tired, so desperate, so very  _ un-Hornet.  _ Mato seemed to soften, the pleading of a sibling resonating with him.

With a soft sigh, Mato slowly stepped forward, cradling Ghost in his arms. "I'm going to put you in the water, little one."

Ghost meeped quietly. Hornet held out her arms to take them, taking great care to make sure her claws didn't so much as brush a single scale of theirs out of place.

The little one was placed in her arms, and she froze for a moment, as if unsure if Ghost was really there. 

But Hornet quickly snapped out of it, squeezing Ghost as tight as she could. Ghost peeped, startled, as she hugged them so tight.  _ "I'm sorry." _ She croaked, voice sounding hoarse.  _ "I'm  _ _ so _ _ sorry. I'll never forgive myself, Ghost. I love you, I love you so much, you're my sibling and I  _ _ hurt _ _ you, Ghost, I'm so sorry." _

Ghost peeped again, feeling so loved but so squished at the same time. The others swarmed closer, peppering in reassurances and comforting words with their own hugs.

Lemm watched for a moment, giving Oro a look. "Do these look like monsters that would 'finish the job' to you?"

Oro lit a cigarette. "Eh, just wait till the kid's a teenager. They'll try to kill them for reals, just you wait."

"Hey, don't squeeze them _too_ tight, do you wanna break their bones?" Lemm asked. "You'll see them again in a few weeks, I promise."

Hornet gave her sibling one last tight squeeze. Ghost peeped, wrapping their arms around her neck in a hug. She glanced back towards the open waters, looking tempted to make a dash for it. Her sibling was safely back in her arms, she had accomplished her mission. But the disapproving look from her peers and the humans on the dock made her reconsider. 

With great hesitation and reluctance, Hornet gently unhooked her sibling from around her neck and handed them back to Mato. But before he could stand back up, Hornet grabbed his sleeve. "If you hurt them, I'll claw out your trachea and  _ shove it up your-" _

“HORNET.” Lemm barked.

“Can we visit the little one?” Quirrel asked, anxiously shifting on his many legs. “T-That is in no way insinuating that we don’t trust you three, of course! We-We just-”

“We worry about them.” Cloth finished for him, before Quirrel became a stuttering mess. “And we want to remind them that we care.”

Ghost peeped at the other mers, tail wagging. They showed no fear nor resentment towards their friends.

Mato looked to Lemm for an answer. Lemm, pleased with how quickly he resolved the issue, nodded. “Supervised visits are fine.” Then, slightly urgingly, he added, “I think you lot best be going home, for now. Tell the reef what’s going on.”

Quirrel took the hint. “Right, right. And now that we know Ghost is OK and in safe hands, a proper rest is in order. Oh, Elderbug is most likely worried  _ sick.” _

“Oh Gods, we forgot to tell anyone we left.” Cloth groaned, head in hands. 

The merfolk said their final goodbyes to Little Ghost before dipping back under the water with little fanfare. Oro crushed the cigarette under his boot. “Christ, that was the second weirdest thing I’ve ever done. I’m going upstairs to get a drink to forget this ever happened.”

* * *

Once they were released back into the water, Ghost would routinely return to the murky waters of the shore to visit the brothers, just as Lemm predicted. Once their wounds healed, Ghost’s once dull scales shone and sparkled in the bright light. 

Ghost would swim by the dock, peeping and squeaking to get the attention of their human friends, and only  _ occasionally _ threw rocks at their windows. Sometimes, the pup would bring gifts in the form of small clams and mussels, perhaps a shiny rock. Today, they brought their weapon to show off.

“Goodness, my child! Are you sure it’s OK for something so small to have a weapon that big?” Mato asked, sitting on the dock to watch the pup splash around. One of their guardians would remain close by, watching with keen eyes from a safe distance. Despite Mato’s best attempts, the others still did not fully trust him.

(If Mato looked hard enough, he could tell it was their sister this time around, her signature curved horns being a tell-tale sign.)

Mato watched Ghost spin around for a moment, thinking. “You know, when me and my brothers were younger - around your age, actually - Dad enrolled us in tons of programs. Taekwondo, tai chi, kung fu, wrestling, boxing, fencing...wait you wouldn’t know what those are. Regardless! I took a lot of self-defense and fighting lessons. And while I was never as good as Oro or Sheo, Jesus Christ did Sheo get a lot of trophies; I might be able to teach you some stuff!”

Ghost peeped at him, head tilted in a curious notion.

“Here, I like to call this the Cyclone Slash! And here’s how you do it…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WAH...IT'S DONE, BOYOS


End file.
